Daily Archives: June 22, 2005

I loved Transformers. My friend down the street had each and every Transformer known to man in the spare bedroom that his family deemed “the toy room”. I used to go over and we’d play Transformers all the time. He had the Constructacons, and that allowed me to bust out my favorite Dynobot, Grimlock.

Today I have found Grimlock on steroids, Roboraptor. This dinosaur is toy is great, but it’s not available in the United States. I feel that this is a recurring theme with me. All that is cool and fun does not come to the USA. Could it be that manufacturers hear “the land of the free” and assume that their products have to be sold at no cost due to our most famous song lyric found the National Anthem? Regardless, I want to time travel back to childhood and bring Roboraptor back to help me and Grimlock battle the evil Constructacons.

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I remember when I was younger, my parents allowed me to watch PG-13 movies before I turned 13, and Rated R movies before I turned 17. I remember hearing cuss words and seeing violence that my friends and I would talk about while waiting for our turn at tetherball. When I got home from class I’d kill King Koopa then shoot ducks with my Nintendo gun. Never once did I kill a fellow classmate, nor attempt to kill one. Watching movies and playing games were just that to me.

A recent survey has shown that parents are aware of video game ratings yet disregard them. Some may feel that it’s poor parenting to give a 15 year old child Doom 3 which is rated for 18+ year olds. But I think that it’s poor parenting when a 15 year old can’t handle playing a game rated for 18+ year olds. In this scenario the parent has 15 years to teach one simple concept of “this is a game, and it is not real life”, if they fail to do so, I cannot blame a video game for a child’s poor judgment. My optimistic view of the statistics here may be based on my personal experience only, but then again, isn’t that how everyone sees the world?

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When I read articles like this I shed a small tear. For each wireless network that goes down an angel loses it’s wings, or something similar depending on your beliefs and religion. Orlando has lost it’s magic, and I’m not talking basketball. The free WiFi hotspots in downtown cost about $1,800 per month and about 27 people a day use the city funded resource. How unfortunate. If I were in Orlando, I’d bring two laptops just to help increase the numbers and preserve the free WiFi. Orlando wishes to have 200 users per day in order to keep the service up and running. I’d like to see Orlandoans protest the shut down by camping out with laptops in the downtown hotspot until WiFi is turned back on. But then again, if only 27 people show up for the protest, I’m not sure the course of action will reverse. Sorry wingless angels, walking isn’t so bad anyhow right?

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In casual conversation about iPods (one of my few normal conversation topics) I have often been asked about wireless headphones. iPodlounge has reviewed a pair of Logitech iPod specific wireless headphones. These aren’t the first of their kind, and don’t really tickle the fancy of the iPodloungers. They do however give you a good idea what goes into wireless headphones and the other products that they’ve tested.

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I live in San Francisco. There is no free parking here what so ever. Either you own a spot, rent a spot, or feed the meter. I find that between the Laundromat and the parking meters I’m always changing dollar bills for quarters. Sometimes I have to park in a vacant meter, run to a liquor store to buy a snack or soda, and ask for quarters. I fear that I could get caught one day parking in an expired meter. If only I could pay for the meter with something besides my laundry money. In Coral Gables, a Miami suburb, 4,573 parking meters allow you to pay with something other than quarters. You can pay for your parking meter by making a phone call. This isn’t new technology. Canada has been paying for parking via mobile phone for a bit now. But then again, it seems like every country starts out with the cool technology and it slowly comes to us in the states.

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About

Jeremy Toeman is VP Products for CNET. He has over 15 years experience in the convergence of digital media, mobile entertainment, social entertainment, smart TV and consumer technology. Prior ventures and projects include Viggle, Dijit Media, Sling Media, VUDU, Clicker, DivX, Rovi, Mediabolic, Boxee, and many other consumer technology companies. This blog represents nothing but his personal opinion and outlook on things.